Aortic Thrombosis in Patients on Mechanical Circulatory Support: A Systematic Literature Review

Aortic valve (AV) thrombosis is an uncommon but ominous complication in patients managed with mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices. In this systematic review, we summarised the data on clinical presentations and outcomes in such patients.

We searched articles on PubMed and Google Scholar, reporting at least one adult patient with aortic thrombosis on MCS support and where the individual patient data could be extracted. We grouped the patients by the type of MCS (temporary or durable), and the type of the AV (prosthetic, surgically modified, or native) RESULTS: We identified reports on six patients with aortic thrombus on short-term MCS, and on 41 patients on durable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). On temporary MCS, AV thrombus typically causes no symptoms and is found incidentally pre- or intra-operatively. For those with durable MCS, the occurrence of aortic thrombus forming on prosthetic or surgically modified valves appears to be more related to the intervention on the valve, rather than from the presence of LVAD. The mortality in this group was 18%. In patients with native AV on durable LVAD support, 60% of patients presented with acute myocardial infarction, acute stroke, or acute heart failure, and mortality in this cohort was 45%. In terms of management, heart transplantation was most successful.

While the outcomes of aortic thrombosis were good in patients where temporary MCS was used in the setting of aortic valve surgery, patients with native AV who develop this complication on durable LVAD have high morbidity and mortality. Cardiac transplantation should be strongly considered in eligible candidates because other therapies provide inconsistent results.